Over the past two decades, there has been a multitude
of scientific studies analyzing human genetic variation, in particular
mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), as a means of reconstructing human evolutionary
history. But how reliable are these reconstructions? Can genetic data
be used to accurately identify close evolutionary relationships between
human populations; reveal genetic signatures related to demographic
episodes of population growth and contraction; and date peopling and
expansion events?

The Yakut mtDNA Research Project, conducted by the LBA
at the University of Kansas (Mark Zlojutro and Dr. Michael H. Crawford)
and other research groups from both the United States and Russia, has
examined these questions by characterizing mtDNA variation in a population
with a well understood origin and historical demography – the
Turkic-speaking Yakuts of northeastern Siberia.